World Above and Place Below
by ir0ny-walking
Summary: Mermaid!AU. Summary: Soul saw someone lying in the rocky shore from his place in the lighthouse. He was shocked when he saw that it was a green-eyed mermaid. A what would have been a innocent handshake turned out to be a disastrous recasting of curse that open the abyss. After 5 years, they met again without the knowledge of the past and was enrolled in the mysterious school, DWMA.
1. Chapter 1

A white haired boy sighed at his place in the window of the lighthouse. He was not afraid of falling. No, he was more terrified of himself and the people who look at him meanly. They accused him of being cursed because of his different appearance. This place was his only solace. It is peaceful in here without any noises save for the occasional crashing of waves in the cliff. When he looked down, he saw someone in the coastline. He was momentarily blinded once the light passed in his direction. After rubbing his eyes, he saw that the lower half of their body was submerged in the water while the upper was lying in one of the rocks. They are so still that he thought they might be passed out.

' _Or they might be a survivor from a shipwreck! It makes sense because there was a storm yesterday! I need to help them!'_

He ran towards the stairs, grabbing a lamp in the process, then threw the door open to rescue the person. "Young Master, where are you going? It is already dark." His butler asked after seeing him passed by.

"I'm going to save someone!" He replied, still sprinting.

At the time, he reached the rocky shore, they were nowhere to be seen. He panted to catch his breath, all the while thinking if he was too late and the surf had dragged the person back to the ocean. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

The boy looked around to search for anybody with no luck. There was a sudden wave in his right that hit him. It nearly knocked him off on the ocean. Luckily, he had clutched a solid high stone for balance. He tried to call out again, "Hello?"

When heard a splash in front of him, he turned and lighted it. He was shocked by what he saw. Two sea-green eyes were staring back at him curiously. It was a girl with an ash blonde hair styled in pigtails. She was bare save for the long seaweed covering in her chest.

"Why are you here? Don't you know that it is dangerous?" She questioned him.

"I saw someone lying in one of these rocks. Why are _you_ in here?" He responded.

"You mean; you saw me? But I was careful not to be seen." She furrowed her brows.

"You're the one I saw? But why are you lying here half plunged in the ocean?"

"Because the rock was warm and I need the saltwater to live."

"What?" He was getting confused by the answers of the weird girl.

She looked back behind her and he followed her line of sight. Instead of legs, what was attached in her waist was a tail. It was pink in the end with a silver fins which was reflecting an orange glow in the lamp he carried. He looked her with awe, "Are you real?"

"Of course, I am real. Are you?"

"I am. So, you are a Mermaid and you are not a dream?" He asked excitedly.

"Yes. Are you what they called a human being?"

"Yep! Do you sing? They say people like you always sing to lure us men to our deaths. Is this true?" He sat down uncaring about the water soaking his pants.

Her face scrunched up in disgust, "We do sing sometimes but we don't lure men. They are the ones who chase us in our Place Below even if we don't want them to. Besides, it is the Sirens that uses their songs to kill, not us. We are practically harmless."

"We can follow you on the ocean? Cool! But how do we breathe?"

"Not all of you can. The Ancestor, the first of our kind, built a shield in order to protect us from the harm caused by the World Above. I think, it looks like a bubble because it is translucent. It feels like one, too! The shield always tickles me when I pass it. But only those who have good intentions can enter it. If you are deemed as pure, you can get in the Place Below. Though if you are bad, you will bounce right back after hitting it."

She tried to drag her body to the surface but failed miserably. He stood up, placed the lamp on the other boulder, and wrapped his right hand on her waist while his left was holding on the rock for support. He felt a shock in his arms but dismissed it as his imagination. His mother always say that he had a very wide one.

"What are you doing?" She looked at him alarmed. "Helping you, of course." He grunted then hoisted her up. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." They sat down and was silent for a few minutes before she broke it. "What is that thing? My tutor said that you like to invent new things. Is that one of it?" She pointed at the lamp.

"Oh, this? It is called a lamp and, yeah, we invent things to help us from our work. Like this. It provides light for us when it is dark. It helps us see more clearly in the darkness."

Nobody spoke after that. They just watch the waves crash beside them. "By the way, my name is Soul Evans. I'm thirteen years old. How about you?"

"Maka. I'm Maka Albarn and I am twelve years old."

"You have a last name? I thought Mermaids doesn't have any." He said incredulously.

"I am a Grigori. A hybrid. You know, half mermaid, half human. That is why I have one. My father insisted that I should use it despite my mother's complaints." She shrugged her bare shoulders.

"If your father is a human, then why did you ask me if I am one, earlier?" He cocked his head. "I haven't met him in person. My mother said that he came back here, in the World Above when I was still a baby." She replied.

"Is that how you call the area we live in? World Above?"

"Yes. Ours was Place Below. Why do have other terms for it?"

He nodded, "This dry area where we humans reside, are called Land. While the one where you dwell in are Underwater." He gestured at the seaweed. "Aren't you cold? You are unclothed except for that.".

"What? This is how we dress. I am not nude." She shivered. "Although, I _am_ cold."

"Wear this," he took off his too big jacket, revealing a brown sweatshirt inside. "How do I wear this?" She poked the zipper.

"Here, let me help you." He put it in her shoulders. "You see that hole? You need to pull your hand out of it. The same thing with the other." After she successfully wore it, he zipped the clothing. It was so large that it covered the half of her tail "There. How do you feel?"

"A lot warmer." He smiled. "I told you."

"I was thinking… How amazing is it that our world was different yet alike at the same time?"

"Yeah. It's amazing, all right."

A voice echoed in the beach. "I think; someone is looking for you. Young Master? What does that even mean?" She looked at him.

"Oh no. It must be Sid. He is our butler."

"Butt… ler?"

"He is… What do you call that? Servant? Right. He is my sort of servant."

"You have a servant? Are you rich or something?"

"Young Master, Soul? Where are you? You need to go home immediately!" He heard the distant shout of the said man. "I'm coming! Just stay there and wait for me!" He yelled.

"I need to go." He hesitated. "Will you still be here tomorrow?"

"I think so, why?" She asked.

"Do you want to be my friend?"

"Don't you have any human one?"

"They hate me." In her inquisitive look he sighed then added, "My appearance is different from them. They said that I am a spawn of a daemon for I have red eyes and sharp teeth."

"What? Just because you are unique you are hated by your people? How mean! In our place, we don't judge them by forms! Though we give value to those who are rare ones. If you are living with us, you will be treated as special because your eyes look like a gem. A ruby to be exact. Now that you mentioned it, you look like the Prince in Aria's story! With all the pale hair and cool eyes."

"Wait, you think my eyes are cool? And who's Aria?"

"Yeah. Aria, my too-many-greats-to-count- grandmother, was the mermaid who fell in love with a human prince. I thought Mom said that her story was popular in here?"

"Hold on, the story 'Little Mermaid' was actually the life story of your very, very great grandmother?" Disbelief was obvious in his tone.

"Uh, yeah. Unfortunately, though, she died because the Prince didn't like her back. Her siblings had tried to trade their beautiful hair to the witch in exchange to gain back her life and tail. She gave them a knife. In order to seal off the deal, Aria have to stab her beloved prince using it. A life for a life. But she loved him so much that she chose to die instead of killing him. So, she threw the cursed knife back to the ocean."

"Wow. I haven't heard this kind version. The real story was depressing. In the book, the prince and her had lived happily ever after."

"What? They altered it? Why would they do that?"

"To entertain us probably… I have a question. Does the prince have teeth like mine?"

"The weavings didn't show it although it _is_ a possibility. He has a bit of Merblood after all. The Merfolks have naturally serrated teeth. Well, all except for me. I have ones similar to my father." She grinned to show him.

"So, does this mean, we're friends?" He extended his hand towards her.

"Friends." She shook it.

Something unexpected happened when their hands touched. A shockwave of electricity burst out from the both them. The energy crackled as it surrounded them. It created a powerful explosion to the environment. The whole area was covered in blue light, the winds became stronger and the rock where they sat had all but disintegrated along with the others. They were lifted up in the air.

"What is happening?" She asked terrified.

"I don't know!" He pulled her close then embraced her. Soul was trying to cover her body so that he could protect her if ever they fell down. He was not about to let his only friend to be hurt. "Don't let go!" He shouted to be heard in the roaring of winds.

There was something rising from ocean. "At last! I'm free once again!" It cackled, "That stupid Arachne deserved to be trapped in the abyss for giving the knife to the desperate Mers."

They clutched each other tightly as if their life depended on it. The figure saw them suspended on the air. "What do we have here? Some children that held the key to our prison?" It came nearer to reveal an outraged expression of a sea witch. It slowly melted then turned into a sinister grin, "Perhaps, I should kill you so that will permanently have my freedom."

The witch made a ball of black lightning then sent it flying at them. Maka gasped and closed her eyes bracing for the pain but none came. The ball was already diminishing when it was halfway and by the time it made in contact with the energy around them, it was already gone. She frowned, clearly annoyed at the shield around them that made her attack unsuccessful.

"Stop!" A familiar voice halted the next attack. "How did you get out of the abyss?" When Sid saw them, his eyes widen for a minute but immediately turned serious. "It is still not time."

A white light hit the witch in the shoulder. It didn't knock her out but instead, it was absorbed by her scaly skin. She hissed at them then retreated back to the water. He was about to chase her, "Don't! She won't be back after a few years. I've made sure of it." Someone said from the shore. He turned back to see a girl with bubblegum pink hair. She chanted something in an unknown language. Straightaway, the ball of energy faded from the two children. They were passed out from all the terror in the situation and was gently floating in her direction. After they were laid down on the sand, she glared at the man.

"What was happening, Kim? I thought it won't occur until five years after."

"I tried to tell you before but you won't listen to me. You all decided to trust that torn Prophecy Book instead of hearing me out about what I've seen."

"What did you see?" He asked.

"Great. Now that it is starting, you turn to me." She replied sarcastically. "What is it?" He demanded. Her expression turned blank and her eyes shone.

" _Two innocent hands touched to form the keys_

 _In an accident shall it open up the abyss_

 _Five more years to reverse the old curse_

 _To fulfill or lift it up, the choice will be theirs."_

 _"The re-embodiment of the bearers of peace_

 _Will be tested by the rising of The Hiss_

 _Powers that was long have since forgotten_

 _Inside them will slowly reawaken."_

His expression turned grim. "That was the two Great Prophecy. It is impossible that it will happen on the same period of time with the same Heroes." He glanced at the two. "Kami will be mad if she found out that her daughter is one of the Chosen."

"Hold on... I could see something else but I don't think my power could sustain it." She rasped. Beads of sweat formed in her forehead. "You can do it, Kim. You have to foretell the last Prophecy so we can prepare for it, curse it!" He swore. "I am trying!"

Blood drips from her nose but she doesn't let it distract her from the deep concentration she is in. All noises have faded as if the earth itself was holding its' breath in anticipation. Finally, she found the vision.

" _The land and sea would turn on each other_

 _One enemy will start a war, greater than all they encounter_

 _Together they fight shouting their battle cries_

 _In the end, a hero will make the curse's sacrifice."_

* * *

Soul woke up, breathing heavily. He tried to sat up though his tangled sheets prevent him from moving more than an inch in his bed. After wrestling with it for a few minutes, he was free. _'Strange. I always have this same dream in the same day for five years. And it's more vivid than ever, as if it really happened.'_

He groaned, "I think, I'm losing my mind." The clock in the nightstand flashed 6:05 am.

Someone knocked on his door, "Soul, are you awake?"

"Yeah," He replied. "Your father and I will have a business meeting and will also visit a friend from across the country. We will go to the airport now. Do you want to come with us?" Her mother asked outside his door.

"No. I'll be staying. You go enjoy the world, I will be fine back here. Sid are always watching out for me so, you could relax and not feel guilty about leaving me."

He heard her mother's footsteps descending the stairs. The front door opened and he could her a muffled conversation. When he heard it shut, he sighed.

The boy grabbed his jacket and decided to have a long walk away from the palace to clear his mind from all the depressing thoughts that was invading it.

* * *

Maka gasped. Her dream felt more real now compared to the other times she had dreamed of it. A rush of relieved bubbles escaped from her mouth upon seeing that she was still in her soft makeshift coral bed. She slipped out of her seaweed blanket to swim in front of her vanity. They are now living in the deepest part of a swamp near the human castle. The girl doesn't really remember what happened, only that when she woke up in the beach, her mother insisted that they move in to some place away from the ocean. The reason why the whole Mer population have readily agreed to her proposition was still unclear to her. 'They are willing to leave the protection just for a change,' was the automatic reply of her mother to the question. Whenever she tried to recall the events of that day, she always ended up blank or have some very distorted images that doesn't make sense. It was as though, someone or something, had purposely blocked her memories.

"My head is going to explode if I think about this any longer. I need to get some fresh air." She said mostly to herself.

She swam out of their home. Up to the surface.


	2. Chapter 2

Soul decided to wander in the castle library to grab a book before he ventured out of the large but suffocating place. Rows upon rows of large shelves filled with books of all genre lined the whole room. Only the light of the blazing fire in a hearth illuminated his surroundings. He walked towards the nearest one then grabbed a book by a random. As he was in the hallway, he flipped it to see what he got. Its' title 'The Little Mermaid' was written in gold above the image of a mermaid watching the prince behind a boulder. He felt like his head was full of lead and was being ripped apart from his body. His hand shot out to grab anything to slow down his fall to no avail. He began to see a hazy silhouette of a girl with ash blonde hair pulled up in pigtails.

 _"Hold on, the story 'Little Mermaid' was actually the life story of your very, very great grandmother?"_ He heard his childish voice full of disbelief ask her.

 _"Uh, yeah. Unfortunately, though, she died because the Prince didn't like her back. Her siblings had tried to trade their beautiful hair to the witch in exchange to gain back her life and tail. She gave them a knife. In order…"_

Her voice trailed off and the scene was cut short when he felt someone shook his shoulders. He was pulled back to the present facing Sid who was giving him an exasperated look. "Uh… Did you say something?"

"I was asking if you're okay?" His eye twitched but he repeated.

"Yeah, just dizzy is all. Nothing that a visit in the lighthouse can't cure." He replied shaking his head. _'I'm going crazy.'_

"You know, you are not allowed to be near the sea ever since you nearly drowned."

"Look, I'll be careful, Sid. I thank you for your concern and for saving me when I was thirteen and stupid. But, I need to be alone even for just a couple of hours." His hand turned white from clutching the book tightly, thinking about his always absent parents. "Please,"

"Alright. I'm going to let you slip this time. Just three hours. If you still haven't returned after that, I'm going to skin you alive. You understand me?"

"Yes. Thanks, Sid. You're the best."

Sid clapped his back then escorted him outside of the palace. The guards bowed to them. "Your Highness,"

"Open the gates." He commanded. "We apologize but the Queen strictly-"

"You heard the Prince. Open it. the King and Queen are on vacation so he's the one in charge here."

The guards looked flustered but obeyed the butler.

Once he was out, he began to walk on a new path in the forest.

* * *

Maka was almost on the shallow part of the swamp when she remembered something. The enchanted necklace her mother made her vowed to wear whenever she would go was left forgotten in her vanity. "I'm such a klutz." She contemplated whether she would go back or just leave it. "Well, here goes nothing,"

She got back to their home, straight through her room, on a record breaking speed. "Aha! There you are."

"Maka, is that you?" A voice called out. "Yeah, Tsu. Hang on," she put it on her neck while swimming to meet her black-haired friend. "Your mother went to the council meeting earlier. She wants me to pass her message to you."

"And that is…?" She prompted, raising an eyebrow. "Don't forget to wear your necklace for protection against evil." The other girl supplied with a smile.

She rolled her eyes, "Leave it to Mom to always predict what I might have missed." The girl beside her laughed softly, "Well, we can't blame her now, can we? She was gifted to have a strong gut instinct."

"Which, unfortunately, hadn't been passed on to me."

"Oh, shush. Yours is even stronger than hers. Remember that one time we sneaked out to go back in Place Below? You were insistent to bring back a certain book with a strange plant sticking out of the pages."

"Yeah, because bringing back a medicinal book sure do counts." She replied drily.

"It was written in Ancient Mer Language that _none of us_ could readexcept the Elders, Maka _._ You could not possibly know _what_ it was on first glance nor predict that one of the Mers will be sick with a rare disease."

"That-" She tried to defend herself but was cut off.

"That was discovered only after a year we've gotten the book." Tsubaki raised a skeptical brow. Maka slumped her shoulders in defeat, "I _did_ sense that it's important in some way, okay? Just not in the grand could-saved-a-life kind."

"See? You're more than what you think you are." Just as she opened her mouth to say something in reply, she saw her closed her eyes for a moment as if listening to something. The girl became curious when a light blush appeared on her fair face. "I should go now. I have to meet someone."

"Bye, Tsu. Don't forget to tell me who should I beat up if ever you came at me brokenhearted!" She called out.

After her friend left, she became aware that they had entered her mother's room during their conversation. She saw something hanging on the dresser. It was odd looking though familiar. Somehow, she knew that it was sort of a clothing that was used when someone was cold. Her hand unconsciously reached out to get it. The material was soft even if it's wet and she could tell her mother had taken a good care of it. Realization hit her like a ton of rocks. She gasped when a mirror-sharp memory slip into her mind.

 _"How do I wear this?"_ She saw her small hands poke the article.

 _"Here, let me help you."_ Some boy around her age said although he was still a blur. A stark contrast on the clear surroundings. _"You see that hole? You need to pull your hand out of it. The same thing with the other."_

It faded as soon as it appeared. She stared at the fallen garb on the floor. _'This is insane. I'm starting to make things up.'_

Shaken, she snatched it then swam out of their house. She swished her tail as hard as she could as if she can't get to the surface fast enough. Her head doesn't make sense to her anymore. Whenever she tried to ask her mother about what those images means, she would become evasive or give her a vague answer. It's making her more and more confused.

At last, she broke through the swamp water. Her damp face was greeted by the cool air. It was still early and the fog was so thick that it took her a few minutes to find her rock. Once she settled in her place, she felt herself relax. The calm atmosphere made by the forest surrounding the swamp combined by the warmth of the clothing she wore almost made her forget about her previous frustrations.

Almost, because she could still feel the hurt when her mother refused to be honest. She would rather risk her daughter's sanity than to tell her what the dreams meant. In her state of sadness, she had opened her mouth to sing. Something that her mother sternly forbade her to do because if she was honest, she doesn't have the golden voice most Mers have. Hers was as plain as the dry land they called desert but Tsubaki told her it's beautiful and she even cried. It's a true voice, she said, so full of raw emotions that almost all of them desperately tried to achieve. Most Mers can't apply what they feel in a song, no matter how good theirs was.

* * *

Soul was walking in the forest for about half an hour. He had lost track of the path while trying to figure out about what he saw means. His thoughts were so muddled that he resigned to just lie down on a log, with his hands cushioning his head, in order to sort it all out. The thick canopy of trees did nothing to hide the faint light coming from the sun. He was contented to stay in that position for a long time but a feeling hit him. It was as if someone was pulling at his consciousness to go farther north. The tug was getting stronger as he walked, signifying that he's going in the right direction. There's a fog in this part of the forest for it was denser and had a swamp nearby. He could hear someone singing. It was soft at first though, the nearer he got, the clearer and louder it become. Sorrow was apparent in the song. Not because of the lyrics, he realized. The song was almost without words. In fact, it _doesn't have_ any words for it was like a hum of emotion. Emotion that mirrors his own. The revelation that he could understand the meaning of the song hit him right through his soul.

It stopped abruptly. He heard a gasp followed by a splash of water. "Wait!"

Through the mist he could make out a tip of a fin. It was pink in color with silver scales covered in moss. A tell-tale sign that it was living in the swamp for years. He looked from side to side, he thought that the previous singer was now long gone. His eyes went back to traced it to find a tail stuck in an old branch half submerged in water. It was struggling to break free to no avail. He felt pity for the creature when it cut its tail during the attempt. Blood stained its fins red. Setting his book on the land, he approached the offending tree and tore off the sharp boughs one by one to help it escape.

"There," once, it was out, he sat beside the book he left earlier. He looked back to the swamp only to be startled by two wary emerald orbs visible on the surface staring right at him. "What the-"

He scrambled to get away from the creature. It swam towards the land to watch him and he realized, the _it_ was actually a _she_. A girl around her age was regarding him with great caution. "What are you?"

"What are _you_?" She asked him. "Why did you help me?"

He observed that her lower half was the tail that had gotten stuck. Instead of answering he remarked, "You're bleeding."

* * *

"Huh?" Maka looked at her appendage. True enough, blood was seeping from her fins to the water. Its color was so foreign to her that she poked her wound. Most of the Mers blood was in a lighter hue. A pinkish red to be specific. Her blood was dark red. Crimson as her mother called it. The color of a Royalty. "You got to be kidding me."

"Don't be too surprised at your blood. It's normal for someone to bleed if they were cut." The boy stated while shaking his head.

She glared in response, "You don't understand. I haven't been hurt nor cut all my life."

"Wait, you what? That's impossible! Haven't you even got scratched or something when you're young?" He raised both eyebrows at her.

She suppressed the urge to growl at the annoying creature in front of her, "I'm not clumsy. Thank you very much." Sarcasm was apparent in her tone, "Plus, in our kind, the color of your blood defines your state in the society. The darker it got, the higher your rank is."

"So that means, you're a-"

"Prince Soul!" Sid's yell cut him off.

"I need to go." The girl dived back to the water, leaving only a ripple in her wake.

"I'm in here, Sid!" Soul called out, turning back to find his butler running towards him. "It's not even an hour since I've left. Why are you looking for me?"

"Your brother is here. He said that he wants you to experience a normal life." He a bad feeling about this.

* * *

"Maka, where have you been? I'm looking everywhere for you!" Tsubaki's exasperated voice rang out.

"I'm sorry, I heard your call song and came here as soon as possible. What happened?" Maka replied.

"It's our school." She watched her friend's face fall at the news. "It's closing."

Her eyes traveled to look at their makeshift classroom. The broken windows of the sunken ship they called school. "What did they say was the reason?"

"They said that the sea was more dangerous than ever. That we shouldn't go back here again."

"They're probably correct. Let's go before something catch us here." She turned back and started swimming to the surface. "But I'll find a way for us to learn and go to school even if it means having legs and going to the surface."

* * *

"Wait a minute. You want me to go to school?" Soul can't wrap his head on the idea of school. He was homeschooled for the last eighteen years of his life.

"Yes. I know this is new to you but you need to get out of the castle's confines. You have the right to experience a normal life and have some normal friends."

Man, he got him. All he wanted was someone to understand him and be his friend. Not someone who fears him for the reason of looking like the demon's spawn nor because he was their Prince. But what if he would scare them away like before?

"Don't worry, I'll send you to an extraordinary school. They won't judge you by your looks but they won't treat you like a Prince either." Wes raised an eyebrow to challenge him.

He smirked in response, showing off his serrated teeth, "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

After two weeks, they found themselves enrolled in the DWMA. Also known as the Death Wights and Mystics Academy.

* * *

 **Hi, everyone! Thank you for reviewing and putting this stories in your Favorites. I decided to make this a multi-chapter story, [Yay! \\(^O^)/] and will try to update more. Sorry for the super late continuation. ^_^**

 **~bip0lar-angel~**


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